Lost Flame
by Moon Witch '96
Summary: Rayne is normal, her life is nice but isn't flashy. Faeries? None existent to her, until she meets Estee. Now what is an Earth girl to do when she's an fairy too? Isn't she just a normal girl? Isn't she human? Who is she really? Please R
1. Prologue

**AN: Okay I'm giving it another shot. Let's say that Bloom and Sky got married at 20 and 21, respectively. I'm so sorry it took me so long to write it! I've been busy, and I have more fics to worry about now... Though I have to say that I still love this one dearly, as it was my first one!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Winx club, I just wish I did so I could make it my own... Oh the things I would do... Like make this an actual show =D**

**Prologue **

Rain pounded harshly at the windows of the palace of Sparks. It fell so heavily that it appeared as if the whole palace was submerged completely in water, as if the whole palace was in a deep ocean. A blond figure looked out of these windows, deep in though as he gazed out them. He felt deep peace as he over looked the planet that was now apart of his kingdom, a planet that had been his for over five years, ever since 'I do' left his beloved wife's lips all those years ago. He remembered faintly the arctic waste land that the planet had been when he first had laid eyes on it, and he also remembered his wife's strong determination to make her birth planet whole again. First, she had revived the planet along with her friends making it a paradise that it had been before its destruction, then she alone had gathered all the people that had fled the once crumbling planet, and brought them back to live in their now revived home. It had taken her over four years to do it, but in the end she had finished the job, along with her group of five friends.

As he gazed out, he had the feeling of being watched, and true to his longed learned instincts as a specialist, he looked behind himself with a quick movement of his feet, and his hand snapping to his waist where his old sword lay waiting for him. His stance was ready for action as he caught the one that had been gazing at him. It was a woman, one that started at him with no emotion, as he released his tense stance.

She was beautiful, he had to admit, just like her younger sister, which he couldn't help but think looked a lot like her. Her skin, he noted, glowed with a ghostly orange light, and her form was not completely solid, as he could see the corridor behind clearly through her ghostly body. Her skin also had the strangest mark, that glowed brighter than the rest. It was in the shape of a dragon, and it's serpent like body wound it self around the woman's body, and it seemed to almost be_** alive**_, moving and flickering like a flame. Her curvacious form was covered in a tightly fitting white dress, that flared at the bottom, and moved with an unseen wind. Her face, probably was gorgeous as well, but it was covered in a enormous mask. Her head was crowned with a tiara that showed her royal linage.

Remembering his training as a king, he bowed at the ghostly woman, ignoring the twinge of discomfort that came from being around the woman that was two decades dead.

"Lady Daphne." he said along with his bow, going deeper than a King should bow for a mere princess.

The woman made no move to copy his bow, she simply started at him with unseen eyes before she whispered out with a sweet, lulling and powerful voice;

"King Sky... She is giving birth..."

The King's azure eyes widen with shock as he heard a earsplitting scream echo through the corridor. The mighty and proud King dashed away, cape streaming behind him as he sprinted through the corridor, toward the screaming. He soon found the place that he was looking for, and the only barrier between the screaming and him was a ornate door that held the images of a fierce and mighty dragon. The King ignored the beautiful door, and crashed through with desperation.

"BLOOM, hold on darling! You can do this, only a little longer!" said a bombshell blonde woman inside the massive bedroom behind the door.

The blonde woman was leaning over the figure of red haired woman, who on the bed writhed and gasped for breath, her body drenched in sweat, her once beautiful silk gown clinging to her body, ruined. The woman on the bed was the one that was screaming. Her loud voice echoed throughout the place corridor, and the very planet seemed to echo her pain, it moved with her, and the storm ragging outside showed the bond she had with the planet. The woman held the hand of the blonde, so tightly that her knuckles shone white, and that the long tan fingers of the blonde turned purple, the circulation of blood blocked by the strong grip of the redhead.

"Ste—lla…It hurts, please make it stop." gasped out the red head, eyes hazed with pain and terror.

"Bloom…Hang on, just a little longer!"cooed the blonde, Stella, her golden eyes bright with tears at seeing her best friend in so much pain.

"Bloom." King Sky whispered, drawing the attention of both the women.

The red head, Bloom, looked up, her fierce blue eyes focusing on King Sky. His own eyes were clouded in pain at seeing her like this. A small smile flickered across her face before it contorted in pain, mouth pulled down into a deep grimace, brows smashing down, wrinkling the skin of her youthful face. Her body shivered at the contractions the birth caused, and moans, screams ripped out of her throat as each one passed. King Sky ran to her, grabbing her other hand and giving it a squeeze of comfort, soon he felt his own large hand lose circulation from his wife's strong grip.

"Sky…I love you..." whispered Bloom, her face softening, eyes misty at the sight of her husband.

"I love you, too Bloom…" responded the pained King, his eyes painfully taking in his wife's state.

His wife, the beautiful and most powerful fairy, the keeper of the Dragon's Flame. The Queen of the kingdoms of Sparks and of Eraklion, his queen. She was everything to him; his heart was for her and her only. It had been the second he laid eyes on her, all those years ago, when he had rescued her from the troll. She had enchanted him with just a glance of those large, fiery blue eyes. And yet she was here in pain, because of him. It had been a joy to him when she had told him she was pregnant, filled his soul with awe and love. But the child was hurting her, the one thing he could not forgive. And it was all his fault. He caused the most powerful fairy in all existence to be in unimaginable pain. He caused his Bloom to feel this pain. It was unforgivable.

"Have faith, King." Whispered a caressing voice, softly and gently.

A glowing hand settled on Bloom's forehead, glowing slightly brighter at the contact with someone who had the same blood as the ghostly woman. The King looked up to see the masked face of Bloom's elder sister, Daphne. Her glowing eyes burned into him, warning him not to blame himself. His shoulders slumped slightly, and his face burned with shame, how could ever think to blame himself... The blonde haired King nodded, feeling odd at the evil that had coursed through him.

"Bloom I see the head, push!" screamed a Stella, acting as a nurse, attending her friend with much care.

With a strangled scream, Bloom obeyed her dearest friend. It hurt so much; it made her body ache at the effort of pushing the infant. It made her body feel weak and useless. All those years of defeating evil with unparalleled strength seemed useless to her now. It seemed as if with each second that she was loosening her strength. And she wasn't ready. That thought screamed through the twenty-five year old's pain hazed mind. She was too young, not ready to be a mother. Being the savior of the magical dimensions, sure; but being a mother? Not yet. She was losing her faith in being able to care for this child. How could she, when not so long ago she was a child?

"_Don't stop..." _sang out a voice that was soft and pleading.

Queen Bloom looked up, and her breath caught at the lovely sight above her. It was a girl, a teenage girl that was looking urgently down at her. She was beautiful, and she was just like Daphne. The same ghostly figure, the same luminescent skin, the same dragon mark withered and flickered on the girl's body. Of course they were different people, Bloom could see that in the girls slender figure, in the different dress that moved around her with unseen wind. In the shape of the girl's masked face, in the long hair that was like a flame all around her. The girl then smiled, and it filled the Queen with awe and joy to see the girl show such a beautiful expression.

"_Hold on, just a little longer…Let me live. Go on. Please..."_

Bloom's awe turned to confusion; _'let me live?'_ The apparition soon disappeared with a flash, closing her eyes as it did. The queen blinked. Mind full of confusion and doubt. What in the worlds was going on? She deiced then and there that the girl had said to go on, so she would go on. Her eyes then filled with the fire that she was famous for, and with a strangled war cry, she gave one last push. Soft crying filled the room, as the red haired Queen collapsed in relief.

"IT'S A GIRL!" screamed the Stella, golden eyes sparkling with relief that the long labor was finally over.

Stella quickly performed a simple spell to clean the infant, and was about to cover the tiny girl when she noticed the girl's pale chest. Her chest had a mark, a dragon's head on the center of the tiny chest while the rest of the serpent like body circled around her torso to her newly made bell button. It was a very detailed like a tattoo each scale different from the last, but the color was of the lightest pink; the color that most birthmarks could only be.

"What in the world?" said the startled Stella, her golden eyes flickering from the infant, to the glowing elder sister of her best friend, comparing the two marks on the two people of the Sparksian line.

"What's wrong? Let me see her." Stated the Queen, weak arms held out to hold her new daughter.

Stella frowned, but she passed the infant without a comment into the waiting arms of her mother. Bloom looked at the small infant, barely sensing that her husband was hovering behind her, watching their daughter along with her. Her face lit up with awe, eyes glittering with tears. She understood the girl now, '_let me live'._ It had been her child; she could see it in the baby's eyes, see that the apparition was her daughter...

"So beautiful… My little spark..." whispered the queen, a tired smile appearing on her face, as she gazed at her new daughter, her hand weakly stroking the soft red hair on her head.

"Yes she is the just the _cutest!"_ whispered out an icy, husky voice, chilling everyone in the room to the bone.

Everyone in the room looked up in alarm, there jaws dropping at the sight before them. A woman stood in the doorway, her icy blue eyes crazed. Her usually sleek white hair was dirty and almost black with the grim that caked it, and haloed her body in a dark cloud. Her usually pristine clothes were dirty and torn, indecently showing off certain areas. She was slumped forward, as if she had no strength to hold herself up, but the look in her crazed eyes showed that she had more than enough strength to take them down.

"Icy!" screamed Stella in alarm, more shocked than anything to see the witch.

The witch paid no attention to the Queen of Solaria, no, she just focused on the bed that held the person she hated most.

"Cute little baby! Cute little fairy!" mocked Icy, her eyes never straying from both Bloom and baby.

Everyone tensed, their eyes flickering to the small newborn babe in the Bloom's arms. It sent them on edge for Icy to speak about the unnamed infant.

"What do you want Icy?" asked King Sky in a harsh, unforgiving voice, stepping forward to the witch.

Icy's eyes flickered briefly and without interest to the unmagical King. She looked at him as if he was the dirt on her high heeled shoes, as she thought that anyone without magic was bellow her interest. She answered his question though.

"What do I want? Yes, what do I want? I want revenge, for those who slaughtered my kin." she said this sneeringly, eyes flashing with a manic light.

Everyone was left in shocked silence at the witch's words, not understanding why she was coming to them for revenge, because they hadn't see nor hair nor hide of any of the sisters for over five years. They simply stared blankly at her as she continued her speech.

"For my sisters! For Darcy and Stormy!" she wailed out in voice that was not her own, eyes filled with tears that shocked them once again.

They had never known how close the sisters were only that they had worked together for a common goal, but it was obvious now that they truly did care for one another. What else could they think at the distressed, and surely grief driven madness in the eldest sister's eyes?

"Icy, all of you disappeared after the last battle, we didn't, couldn't have killed your sisters if we don't know what happened to them..." Bloom spoke gently as possible, she too knowing and understanding the grief that Icy was going through.

"LIAR! DON'T YOU DARE LIE TO ME!" screamed the crazed witch, her powers of ice shining around her fisted hands a shocking blue color, making everyone once again tense at the display of her magic.

Without any real warning her hands blasted out her magic, the room's temperature turning beyond freezing as it was channeled toward two of the four inhabitants of the room. Stella, and King Sky stood frozen, their faces set in deep surprise.

Icy stalked forward, staggering and laughing like a maniac. Bloom clutched her child to her chest; she knew that in her weak state she couldn't possibly fight. Icy reached out to the queen, and wrestled the infant out of her weak arms without much effort on her part.

"Kin for kin…"whispered Icy, her shaking hand caressing the now silent infant's face.

A face that was looking at her without fear, without hatred. She saw the tiny, clean fingers of the infant lift up, and wrap around one of her own dirty ones. She noticed with faint shock that the baby simply leaned into her hand, giving her one last calm look before closing her large eyes and falling straight asleep.

"No!NOT HER! TAKE ME INSTEAD, JUST NOT HER!" screamed out Bloom, tears falling her cheeks.

Icy only let out a sharp bark of laughter her still glowing hand lifting up with a struggling movement. As soon as Bloom was trapped in the ice, her tears still visible through the clear glass like ice, she let out more laughter, and disappeared with a bright flash of light, still clutching at the bundle of blankets that held the heir of the throne of both Sparks and Eraklion.

The laughter of Icy the witch of the Ancients filled the void of space as she sped past the planet Earth without a care, her long and unkempt hair floating wildly around her in a dirty white halo. She cuddled the baby to her chest, more laughter escaping her as she saw the small peaceful face of the infant that she had just spirited away.

Even more laughter escaped her at the thought of the Dragon Flame pixie's face when she had taken the infant from her weak arms. When she had first met that pixie she had been so easy to control, so easy to reduce her to tears. But as the years went by she and her beloved sisters had been nothing but a mere nuisance to her, the last battle had been especially humiliating, she had laughed in their faces, laughed! She had said that they were useless, and that they would never touch her again. Well she had touched her, she was sure that she had just broken her, if the look on her face was any indication.

"_Stop."_

Icy froze; she spun around to see a girl surrounded by flames, her long hair flickering and wildly spinning in an unseen wind. She was like the pixie's sister, in fact she looked almost identical, save for the more willowy shape, the longer hair and the youthful face that was covered in a large mask. The girl smiled softly, making something in Icy's chest twinge with discomfort at the loving and gentle look on the girl's luminescent face.

"_Thank you. You took care of me all those years, didn't you? I don't know why, but you did, along with your sisters. Thank you... But you have to let me go... Please... "_

Icy could only stare at the apparition, in pure disbelief, not understanding what in the witch she was talking about. At her silence, the girl smiled again, the gentle expression not wavering as the girl lifted her small hand, a wave of flames speeding toward her in a wordless spell. Icy couldn't stop the scream that ripped through her throat as she was surrounded with the flames. But they didn't burn, no they tickled warmly against her skin, and she felt tears come to her eyes at the loving feeling that truly surrounded her.

"_Icy, witch of the ancestors. Become mortal as your sisters have, be free." _whispered the girl, her own eyes filling with tears behind her mask as blinding light surrounded the witch.

With another quick spell Icy disappeared, and the girl caught the infant before she fell to Earth. The infant's blue eyes met identical ones through the girl's mask.

"_Good luck."_

The infant disappeared with a soft flash of light. The apparition lingered for a moment, tears falling from her eyes. She too, then disappeared with a flash of light, her eyes closing as she did, and a soft whisper coming from her just before she did;

"_Please work..."_


	2. Earth Girl

******Earth Girl**

___Fifteen Years later..._

The girl woke up with the softest of sighs, really more of just a slight outtake of breath, her small hands coming up to rub away the tears that had formed in her large blue eyes, quivering slightly as she did so. Her eyes blinked for a few seconds, erasing the images that her dream had forced on her... _****__**Again**_. The dream. The dream... The same darn dream again, the dream where she was taken away by cold arms, from the warm ones that had held her so gently. The dream where someone called for her, called for their little spark. Who could this be, she wondered, who called for her almost every night to return to them? Who was that soft desperate voice that called for her? And for that matter, who was the woman surrounded with flames that told her to hold on just a little longer, that woman with the mark of a dragon on her chest? The woman who always kept a hand over her mouth to prevent her from calling back to that calling voice? The woman who held her back with arms like chains of steel, and refused to let her run toward that voice, no matter how much she longed too? No matter how much she _****__**needed **_to?

The girl shook herself out her musings with a rather sarcastic snort, dismissing her rather strange thoughts, even if some part of her was still wondering just what caused the dream that had haunted her for as long as she could remember...With a slightly depressing sigh she closed her large eyes for a second, before opening them to see her glow in the dark star studded ceiling that she remembered placing herself as a young child, and wondered when on earth was she ever going to take them down. She never seemed to have the energy, and for some reason, the stars had always soothed, so she always just told herself, the next day...

The willowy girl sat up, ignoring the rather loud siren call of the warm blankets on her bed, and swung her long pale legs out of it, stretching her rather long arms over head to loosen up the tense muscles in her back and shoulders, listening to the slight cracking sound the movement made with grim satisfaction. She reached out and took out the twin pigtails that she had put her hair in the night before, shaking her head like a wet dog to move her hair around, not even caring that at the moment her flaming red locks were in such a disarray. She slipped out of her twin bed with a slightly clumsy gait, tripping, and still somewhat half asleep as she reached her destination, a wardrobe.

She rummaged through it, her hands rubbing away the last of her sleepiness, and tears from her eyes. She picked out the first bearable things she could find, and slipped off to take a shower, hoping the sure to be warm water would help her forget the haunting dream... The girl was in luck, the water _**was**_ warm, and the steady spray calmed her frazzled nerves to the slightest degree. The familiar smell of her flowery shampoo did it to an even further degree, and the girl massaged her scalp to relieve some of the tension she felt forming there, knowing that a headache was sure to follow said tension. As soon as she knew she was done, the girl slipped out, and grabbed a towel of the rack of her bathroom. She dried herself quickly, and then dressed even more quickly, smiling and humming under her breath. She rubbed her hair furiously with her towel trying to get her waist length locks dried. After a few moments, she gave up, instead deciding to simply let her hair dry with the heat, as it being summer would really speed things up...

With delicate strokes she brushed her long hair, loving the feeling and humming even more loudly under her breath. Her hands then came up to twist her long hair into a ponytail, noting that her hair now hit the small of her back, instead of her just past her waist... She let her chin length bangs on either side of her face frame it like always, before she fixed her shorter ones across her forehead.

When she was semi satisfied with her hair, the girl turned to her rather messy room and mused that it looked like a hurricane had gone through it... She smiled at the thought. She tidied up her room quickly, to the best of her morning ability. Any stray and dirty clothes that she found were thrown into her small bathroom hamper. She also fixed a few odds and ends, putting them back on their rightful shelves from where they had fallen or been moved from. She steadily ignored the left side of her room, and focused on the right, before she had fixed it to a messy perfection. Desperate, she looked around her to see if there was one more thing to fix, and she spotted her bed with a sigh of relief. Her bed, of course due to her tossing and turning, was a mess. She made it, and then she looked around her and saw that she had nothing more to do... With a sigh, she turned to the side of her room and was reminded just why she hadn't wanted to look there...

It was the last day of summer, and unfortunately for her, she was going to go to high school, just the next day. Part of her was still in denial at all that her summer was already gone, and that she was already going to be subjected to the torture that was school... But her backpack was leaning against the leg of her beat up desk, and her new uniform was draped over her velvet armchair. She frowned at the look of the pleated green skirt and the crisp white shirt, and the red tie. A red beret was on her desk, and she sighed as she imagined wearing the whole ensemble. It was horrible looking, of course, and in fact the girl found the whole thing rather adorable... It just was that she really didn't want to go to a private school... Her hopes had been set on going to the same public school as her friends, in other words her _**only **_two friends that she of course was pushing away, because her mother had deiced that the best thing for her was the prestigious school that most fought tooth and nail to enter...

The girl couldn't help but feel a sort of nervousness flutter around in her stomach at the very though of the implications at the fact that she had manged to score a scholarship, which she wasn't even sure she had gotten on her own merit. Her mother's family, from what she could tell were very rich, and that may have played a factor... She really didn't like the feeling that that thought suggested, and it didn't help that she felt that she didn't exactly want to go to the school her mother had picked out for her...

"Rayne?" came a soft whisper from her door.

_Speaking of mother_... The girl turned at the sound of her name, and forced a smile on her face when she turned to face her mother. As always, the girl, Rayne, was struck by the fact that her mother looked nothing like her.

Amanda Thorn was young, at the age of thirty five was youthful to a fault and looked to be only around the age she had been when she had given birth to her fifteen year old daughter. Her chestnut hair was glossy and sleek, and unlike her daughter's wild and rather long hair, only reached her rather pointed chin. Her face itself, as the rest of her was a deep a exotic caramel, and her narrow and almost cat like eyes were looking at her in a steady emerald green. A smile was on her red painted lips, and she raised a delicate and penciled in eyebrow at her daughter, so part of her lamenting the fact that she had still refused to use the makeup set she had bought her for Christmas,but still proud at the fact that she really didn't need it. Amanda Thorn broke herself out of her thoughts to smile once again at her daughter, before getting to the matter at hand.

"Breakfast?" she asked Rayne in that almost husky voice of her's, her emerald eyes sparkling in delight at the just the simple fact of seeing her daughter.

Rayne forced a smile onto her pale lips, ignoring the fact that she really wasn't hungry, and nodded to her mother. Grabbing one of her unruly, or as her mother told her to soothe her, windswept locks of her bangs and tucking it behind her ear, she followed her mother with bare feet into the hall. She snagged her sneakers and socks before leaving, not wanting to have to walk all the way upstairs again once she was finished with breakfast before she went out for a walk, like she she always did...

The hall, like most of the house was spotless(with the exception of Rayne's own room and her father's man cave), and Rayne heard her mother's thin and dangerously tall heels click and clack against the gleaming hardwood floors. Neither mother nor daughter said a word, both humming songs under their breaths. They made it to their homey kitchen sometime later, which of course was spotless, and held a dear person at the moment, who was seated at their round table, sipping at his coffee and munching at his scrambled eggs. Both mother and daughter smiled at the sight of the most important man of both their lives.

Blake Thorn, both as a husband and as a father had no comparison great enough, at least that was what the biased eyes of his family thought. Though he was a man of relativity few words, a trait that he had passed down onto his daughter, he was one of great strength. Both of heart, and of arm. When he noticed the presence of someone one in the room, he looked up and just smiled up at both his wife and said daughter over the morning newspaper. His sparkling blue eyes crinkled slightly at the edges, hinting at the crows feet that were sure to come for the thirty seven year old police officer, and dimples peeked in his pale cheeks. His red hair was messy and in a great disarray on his head, and his whole body was relaxed almost to a fault, slouching down with the trade mark look of a complete slacker.

"Posture!" scolded Amanda, snapping Rayne out of her inner thoughts.

While her mother scolded her grinning and completely unaffected father, Rayne sat down, eying him and making sure he hadn't had a tough day at work. He had no injuries that she could see and Rayne relaxed, smiling at him with a true smile. She then slipped on her socks, as well as her sneakers, tying the sky blue laces with a smile on her face. Her mother and father were bickering, true, but Rayne could see the light of affection in their eyes, and for some reason that made her truly happy.

After breakfast, which had been a quick affair of eggs and slices of toast, with the lovely orange juice, Rayne raced up stairs to brush her teeth, before slipping downstairs and out the door. She called out to her mother and father in goodbye, smiling as she heard their own shoots goodbye. She slipped out into the sun.

_**~(Some Time Later)~**_

Rayne sat on the steps of a rather big brownstone, the wind blowing through her now dried hair, and she breathed deeply and evenly through her nose to try and even her breath. Some sweat dripped from her brow and from her nape of her neck from both the heat and the rather extensive run she had just done. She felt her leg muscles twitching slightly, and she smiled as the warmth of the sun breathed across her skin. When the heat got to much, Rayne raised her thin shirt from her stomach, up to the point that she knew she wouldn't reveal her bra and tilted her head back in sheer exhaustion, her large eyes closing. She relaxed completely and felt herself falling into a light doze.

It was some time later that she heard a very loud, and very annoying wolf whistle, and it was then that she opened her eyes to gaze into electrifying black eyes. She swore loudly, and the owner of the black eyes chuckled, a smile appearing on their plump cupid bow lips. Brown hair, and also blonde strands feel across his eyes in a careless manor.

"Rayne, do you kiss your mother with that mouth?" asked a disgruntled voice somewhere to her right.

Rayne turned to see one of her friends perched on another step of the brownstone, stormy blue eyes glaring at her. Gale Zander was beautiful, with her pale skin and rather large and bushy blonde hair. A rather livid and scolding look was on her lovely face, and it was directed at her. Rayne didn't mind, and didn't pay much attention to it, because she knew her friend tended to mother her a little too much. Her annoying cousin, Adrian Sable in all his gorgeousness, on the other hand was grinning at her rather leeringly, and she gave him a lovely view of not only her pale and flat stomach, but also of her small middle finger. Ignoring both the scowl on Gale's face and the laughter coming from Adrian, Rayne stood up, cracking her neck slightly. She raised an eyebrow at the pair of them with a frown on her face.

"Well, I gotta run, you know, keep in shape in all?" mumbled Rayne, slipping away.

Adrian caught by her arm, and frowned, which Gale mimicked. Rayne herself frowned, knowing that they were about to scold her, because she knew she had been avoiding them...

"Ray, are you avoiding us because you can't come to the same school as us?"said Gale in a hurt whispered, her blue eyes clouded with sadness.

Rayne's lower lip trembled, and she looked away from her only friends in the world, the friends she would surly stop seeing the second she went to school tomorrow... Because her mother didn't approve of them, and because this was as she put it, and quote, "_Her chance to get to know some new people, and expand her social circle._" She didn't want to see that happen, but she knew deep down that this separation was a long time coming. Her friends were not only older being seventeen and eighteen respectively, but also much more... _**Real**_. She was just that preppy kid. The quiet girl in the corner that just couldn't fit in... And they were the kind of people to be in the thick of things. And though they were truly the only friends she had ever had, Rayne couldn't help but feel that they had always been forced somehow to be her friends... And she didn't want that... And she didn't want to really know if that was true...

"Ray... Please Ray, you can't just stop talking to us because of your mom... We know your mom doesn't like us, but please Ray, don't leave us behind." asked Adrian with a pleading look in his lovely black eyes.

Rayne almost let herself cry. She almost screamed at both of them that they were ones who were going to leave her behind. But instead Rayne just tired to shrug off Adrian's restraining arm with a scowl. When he didn't let go, Rayne sighed and gave the pair of them a steady look. Without her knowledge, a spark of _**something**_ came from within her and attacked Adrian. He let go of her arm with a start, eyes widening.

"Maybe I just don't want to see you." said Rayne simply, a sad smile on her lips.

She left running and not looking back at Adrian gaping at her and Gale looking at her cousin with a disbelieving look in her lovely eyes. When Rayne was truly gone from their sights, Gale turned to her cousin with a frown, her sad look suddenly shifting into a bored one, knowing that she couldn't let her cousin know that seeing her 'friend' as her mother would put it running away truly hurt her.

"Why'd you let her go? Your mother is going to be happy, and neither is mine. Not to mention aunty..." she said the last part without true emotion, inside sobbing her supposedly black heart out.

Adrian sighed, and looked after his little 'earth' girl. He turned to his cousin with a neutral look, even if inside he was screaming with panic. She had showed a spark. After fifteen long years she had shown a spark, and that meant that their mothers and aunt where going to strike... If he told them that is...

"She wasn't going to budge Galey." he said in a drawling tone, turning in the opposite direction then Rayne had gone.

As cousins walked side by side going to report as they always did before, faces masks of no emotions, insides filled with hurt and turmoil, they had no idea that they wouldn't be seeing their little 'earth' girl for a very long time.

* * *

**AN: Don't own it, or else I would have sooooo much fun with the rights...**

**Er... I totally didn't take four months to write this chapter... Totally... ER... SORRY! I'll try to write the next one sooner... Please review?**


	3. The One

**The One**

It was sheer agony he reflected, his fists clenching and unclenching in a tense, and quivering movement. It was as if a limb had been cut off, as if he had lost the thing most precious to him, as if he had had it for the briefest second when he had Awakened, and then had lost it in an even quicker second, cut off in such a way that he felt naked. What agony it was, to be without the Flame of Life. What torture and sadness it was to be without her. And they only had so long to find her, to make sure that the very universe wouldn't collapse around them... It was a little bit of pressure on their teenage selves, for what he knew was that no one had ever been Awakened this early... He smiled thinly, feeling the steady, cool power all over his body, feeling it following through his veins, through the energy networks where simple magic would have gone through... It was such an intoxication thing, of course, the very sheer thought on how much he mattered to the world, because of this rebirth, of this Awakening...

A forgotten land, a lost prince, a orphan boy with no-one in the entire world, a nobody, that was what he had been, and that was what he would've stayed as if he hadn't been Awakened... Now that he was, he was needed. He was necessary. He wasn't that lonely boy living in the streets, he wasn't the boy alone in his dorm-room, hearing his roommates laugh and joke together, since they had known each other all their lives... Because he was needed. That's what mattered... Though he was incomplete, he was at least needed... And as he looked at the floating, sleek ship reflecting the stars back at him, he felt a hum of steady fire magic inside, and he knew that he wouldn't be incomplete for long. Because she was in there.

"It won't take long Wisdom, just a second to grab her and go, then we can take her to somewhere where we can explain it." said a soft and calm voice beside him.

The one called Wisdom shifted, a frown on his face as he turned to the side to see a curvy, tall girl wrapped completely in white flame, flickering in the vacuum of space in odd dancing movements.

"Flesh do you really think it wise to just... Well, kidnap her?" he shoot back.

A snort sounded from his right and he turned to see the aflame form of gray girl, coming up beside him.

"Wisdom, what the fuck are we suppose to say to the little princess... Excuse me, we want you to leave everything you ever have know and come with us... Please? The fate of the universe is in our hands? Think that would work Sherlock?" she snapped.

"Form has a point dude." said a chuckling voice.

A green flame engulfing the figure of a massive man appeared appeared next to the curvy figure of the white flame, Flesh. His flaming arm surrounded her waist, and he rested his head on her shoulder.

"Shut the hell up Strength, you don't have a brain." sneered Wisdom.

A tsk came from the one called Form, and she placed a fiery arm upon Wisdom. She shook her head a few stray strands of her shortly cropped hair moving with her movement, gray aura flickering with the hair.

"No fighting. Not between us Wisdom... Not ever us..." she said with a fierceness that made Wisdom pause.

He looked at her with glowing eyes, a frown appearing on his face, though she couldn't see it.

"But... It's not right just to take her..." he said softly.

Though he couldn't see it, the one called Form smiled beneath the fiery light that surrounded her, opposite to the expression his face. She squeezed his upper arm, noting with another smile how muscular he was. She blushed at the thought, for she knew as Form she had no connection to Wisdom in any of the prior generations of the Awakened... Hence no connection now. She shook her head to responded to him, hating his too narrow sense of justice was not dedicated to the whole universe... It was obviously a latent gene of royalty that he had from his ancestral past.

"She will understand in time, and she is one of us... She is the Flame of Life after all..."said Form softly, squeezing his arm again.

"I..."protested Wisdom, clenching his fist again, tone defiant and rebellious.

Form spun around quickly anger making her gray flame dance darker and taller, she touched the base of her spin with a her hand, showing off the intricate dragon that flickered there in a deeper color than that of the rest of her. Flesh came next to Form, taking her self away from Strength's embrace and stuck out her legs in a somewhat clumsy movement, where a dragon flickered flying through both of them. Strength came forward as well, and showed out his arms, a dragon also glowing on his flesh. Wisdom himself touched his forehead, knowing that a glowing dragon was on it, and sighed softly.

"Remember what we will do, remember what we will do for those who will never know... And what Life in there would do with us." said Form softly, tears prickling to in her eyes.

Wisdom clenched his fist, his hands glowing a darker blue then the rest of him. He knew they were right... It didn't mean he liked it. He was a man of justice, this was the legacy of what he remembered of his parents had given him... He was a man of honor, and this action held no honor... But, in the end, he knew that for the sake of the few things he held dear, for the sake of everything, he would have to leave his honor and sense of justice behind, for the sake of everything...

"Let's do this." he whispered fervently, glancing at the gleaming ship again.

The one to end all this mess was inside, and he she was about to be Awakened.

"Estee, I told you once, and I have told you twice... Get the _**hell away from the controls**_!" snapped a voice from the steering wheel.

The girl named Estee glared at the source of the voice at the wheel, her golden eyes like fire. The same colored golden eyes glared back for the briefest of seconds back at her, before they turned back to stare steadily at the windshield. Because the driver, Darren was always soooo serious thought Estee, rolling her eyes. Her brother was just an idiot with a stick up his ass. Yup she thought as she walked away from the controls, tossed her long brown hair over her shoulder, looking out one of the multiple windows. The stars stared back at her, and Estee relished the feel the starlight, as a faerie who drew her power the central star of the universe, or what most called the Sun, she was always soaking up some rays of any star. She paused and looked at the passing moon of earth, and smiled. Moonlight was an amazing thing to her as well, though it wasn't as prominent to her magic core as the starlight, it was still a wonderful touch to her skin...

"Hey, Darren stop being such an ass to your sister." called out a girl from the back a frown on her face.

Estee giggled when her brother simply flicked the girl the finger in a lazy movement, and the face the tall, older and scowling girl gave him in return.

"Love you too asshole."muttered the girl, shaking her head, lush brown curls bouncing as she disappeared to the back of the ship, mumbling.

"He really does Brooke!" screamed out Estee, laughing.

"...Shut your mouth sunshine, you're giving me a headache." said a slightly husky, and harsh voice.

Estee turned to see Ryder, his vibrant magenta eyes not amused and mouth scowling. She melted a little seeing him, as he was shirtless and his lean, pale body was out for the world to see. The girl blushed, just a little, as she notices the curves of his abs, and the way his bare and narrow feet were somehow adorable for her. She smiled. He still scowled, spinning his energy blue sword causally in his hands, sweat dripping down his flesh in a way that made Estee blush even harder as she turned hastily away, knowing that she shouldn't be caught staring at her brother's best friend, no matter how yummy he was. She blushed harder at the thought.

"Whatever music boy." she muttered as she looked out the window again.

She was stunned at the sight before her, and couldn't help but marvel at it... Earth. It was such a beautiful planet, she had been to it only a select few times in her life, and only ever to visit her godmother's human parents, for short periods of time that never surpassed ten minutes. Otherwise, she had never had any personal contact with the only non-magical planet know. It made her somewhat sad in a way, for she felt a strange longing to go to such a planet... The deep blue oceans lulled her, the swirling clouds seemed to wish to breath across her skin, and the green land bellow sang to her with a ancient language...

Estee was torn free from her earthly musings by a curious sound, a grating, high sound that made her hair stand on end. The sound of metal being torn apart made her spin in a rapid movement, and Ryder tensed in front of her, moving gracefully in an arch to face the sound, where the wall of the ship was suddenly gone. Estee blinked, and swallowed, spreading her feet apart in a fighting stance, just waiting for whatever would come next, she felt more than saw her friends come out from the various areas of the ship, and she did see her brother out of the corner of her eye put the ship in auto-drive. His tanned hands took out his red energy sword, and Estee swallowed again, hands ready to pull at the ring on her pinky finger.

They moved in with a slow, eerie grace. Their bodies flickered with sheer, raw magic, and her breath caught at the sight of the four aflame figures. They stopped just inside the ship, hovering in the air.

"We come for the one called Estelle of Solaria." said the deep, powerful, yet startlingly youthful voice of the one surrounded by the blue flames.

Estee tensed, and everyone in the ship smoothly moved in front of her, and the girl's bodies flashed brightly for an second, reveling their fairy forms in a soft, quick light. She smiled, and did the same, relishing the feel of magic on her body, and humming throughout her veins. She slipped the small, unassuming ring off of her slender finger, and spun it within her hands in a practiced movement to revel her staff. She smiled thinly at the group, watching as her brother, Ryder, Saladean and Ophir spun their blades, their magic reflected in the humming blades, as red, blue, green and violet whipped through the air.

"Come and get me." said Estee fiercely, hands clenched around staff in a death grip.

"Look Wisdom, they made it easier for us, how kind of them!" called out the irritatingly cheerful voice of a girl from the gray covered figure.

"Fat chances freaks, we'll never let you touch Estee." snapped her brother, jabbing forward his red blade.

Estee watched as the four figures looked at each other, before nodding. Then, they pounced, moving at such a speed that it took her breath away, especially when all four of them latched onto her, threw their magic at the opposite side of the hull, and jumped through the hole in one graceful movement. She screamed, and she struggled. Kicking, punching, biting and scratching, all infused with magic to make them let go. Unfortunately for her, when they did let go she was unprepared, and fell through the void of space, pulled in to the gravitational pull of the planet bellow her, and was soon speeding towards it at break neck speeds. She swore, and did the thing she was best at. She panicked, slashing her staff in front of her in one flaying movement, and jumping forward into the colorful portal that it made, not caring the fact that she hadn't thought of any location to land at, which would lead to almost any random place in all the dimensions.

She distinctively heard someone enter the portal behind her, and swore. Then when her brother screamed out her name, she couldn't help but feel some dread enter her. She had a feeling then. A feeling that things where going to change drastically. As she fell through the void of her own portal, Estee hoped it was a good thing.


	4. Something Within

**Something Within**

Rayne swore as loudly as she could when she finally stopped in her frantic run, her chest heaving and tears running down her face, concealed simply by her sweat and her red face. Her hands rested heavily on her knees, which she noted trembled slightly. The sun still beat down at her, though somewhat dulled by the thick canopy of trees, and she still glared at the heat the afternoon had brought with it. She really, really hated it that she had just taken off like that. But she had panicked... And now she thought miserably as she looked around, she was utterly lost, not, as in she was physically lost, because she knew her way around the forest rather well, but she was lost... Inside... The world was just a tree and yet another tree in her vision at the moment, and she wanted to scream. So lost inside...

Why couldn't she stand up to her own mother? Why did she have to accept what her mother wanted her to do in life, and not try to find her own path? She was only fifteen, and she knew in this world she had almost no say into what would happen to her... But at the same time the injustice of it all boiled under her skin like fire. She didn't want to go to that school. The uniform presented a girl with a future, a bright one, full of money and success and a lot of things most would kill for. A privilege future...

But it wasn't the type of future she could see for herself. She understood of course, that it was the best of the best of schools. Part of her wanted to go, simply because it would look amazing on any type of resume. But most of her saw the bleak path of a lawyer, or maybe a doctor of some kind... And it just wasn't she wanted. They were good jobs, amazing things that she admired people who were good in their profession... But... Her hands ached for the ease of a pencil in her hands. The ease of paint smeared on her face, hands. She ached to be an artist, of some kind. A painter, an illustrator, a graphic novelist, those were the things that called out to her like a siren. Was that the worst thing that she could be?

Was it that horrible that her mother had to laugh that hard when she told her?

A twig snapped to her right, and Rayne tensed. She crouched down, years of being bullied and running to and through these very woods that surrounded her home city making her wary. She made herself as small as possible, mindful of her long limbs and her bright hair, tucking it close to her body just as she always did. She waited a baited breath, wondering frantically if anyone had followed her in hopes of causing something. They always did.

"FUCK!" screamed a very hoarse voice.

She barely jumped at the sound, wide blue eyes narrowing in the direction of the scream. She heard their labored breathing, and focused on making her own breathing as soft as possible. She waited a baited breath, and then she did _**jump**_ when a very tall girl was smashed into a far off tree to her right. Her height was the first thing she noted about the girl, the second, was that the girl was hurt. They weren't really large wounds, just various scratches and bruises forming on her darkly tan skin. But there was a lot of them, littering her from head to toe. Her long brown hair, which was a little shorter than her own was littered with twigs and leaves, and Rayne guessed that the girl had been thrown around the woods for quite some time. She wore what looked like a once gorgeous party outfit, a cropped one shoulder top that showed off the girl's toned stomach, and short ruffled skirt that show cased her long shapely legs. Those legs were clad in a knee high boots, and her head was adored with a blue head band, as were her arms. The whole assemble was orange, littered with sparkles. She even had sparkling wings against her back, beautiful delicate things with orange rays streaming through the clear martial. The whole costume must have looked beautiful once upon a time, but at the moment it just looked ripped to shreds and dirty from contact to the woods.

"What's wrong princess, can't take a few hits?" asked a very bored voice.

Rayne tensed at the new voice, looking carefully around for the owner of the disembodied voice, only to find nothing or no one at all. The girl against the tree, stood straighter, muscles straining as she did. The wings on her back gave a strange flutter, as if nervous, and Rayne wondered what sort of technology made them move like that.

"Fuck off." said the girl against the tree, strange golden eyes looking around her frantically to find the voice.

A high laugh tinkled around woods like some haunting bell. And it made the fine hairs of her body stand straight on end.

"Oh, dear little princess, I can't do that. Unfortunately we need you." said the voice.

The girl against the tree flipped her hair out of her dirty and scratched face, and trembled against the tree. She bit her lip, and Rayne was horrified to see that tears were gathering in her lovely eyes.

"And what would you need me for?"she asked it with a strong voice that contrasted the tears in her eyes.

In answer to her question, someone else stepped into the woods, somehow invisible before, but reading loud and clear to Rayne's senses now. All of her was suddenly alive with her senses. The very essences of the being in front of her made her skin scream, made her blood boil and her heart beat faster in a painful beat against her ribcage. Her once narrowed eyes were wide with fear, and it took all of her power not to scream at the sensations the form in front of her made her feel.

The being was alive with gray fire, dancing and twirling to a primal beat of its own around the feminine shape inside, lapping at the skin and making the girl or woman inside look nothing but hazy and dark. The air around her lost the crisp, fresh scent of wood, and was instead replaced with the sharp twang of metal, almost like the taste of blood rising through her nostrils. It filled her mouth as well, and the copper taste made her want to gag.

"That, you will know in time." said the being in front of the tall girl.

"Well, sorry to say, but you'll have to drag my cold, rotting carcase with you if you want me so badly, if you even bring me at all."said the girl, light shinning like the sun in her eyes.

Somehow, Rayne knew that the girl set aflame was either frowning or scowling. It was maybe the way the flames twitched around were her mouth should be, or the way the scent of metal bore deeper into her. Or maybe it was her own rapidly beating heart that burned sharply in her chest, painfully hot.

"I'm sorry to hear that princess... Looks like I will have to beat sense into you." said the girl, tone once again bored.

Without another word spoken, the girl against the tree was thrown by a wave of gray _**flames**_ towards Rayne. It was a move that made her nerves stand on edge, and made something snap across her skin. The girl screamed in pain, flying in an painful arch to her back and Rayne pressed herself tightly against the tree as she landed right in front of her with a painful sounding snap of one of her arms. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head, and then closed for a brief second, and Rayne worried that the girl had passed out, until she let out a soft, almost soundless moan and opened her glassy eyes...

Gold met with aquamarine.

The gold widen, and Rayne moved a single finger to her lips. The girl in front of her blinked, not seeming to understand the universal gesture before she nodded shakily, face pale and clutching her left arm. Rayne made a come hither motion with her finger, and the girl struggle to move towards her, but she finally was next to her after a moment. She placed her finger to her lips once more, before she clasped the girl's right large hand in her own petite hand. With a practiced motion, Rayne slowly moved with the girl trailing behind her with her overly warm hand still in her's. They moved easily together she noted, fast and quiet through the woods as if they had done this a thousands times before. They moved for quite some time, both wary and hearing the screams of annoyance from the gray flamed girl behind them.

The stranger in the fairy costume hand trembled within her own, and Rayne kept her grasp tight and squeezed at periodic intervals, trying to calm the girl down. It seemed not to work, since the grasp of the girl stayed tight and trembling. It was all the adrenaline she suppose, keeping her so worked up, or maybe the girl was going into shock... Rayne seriously hopped it was the former, because her own adrenaline charged body could hardly keep still as they fled through the woods, and she wouldn't be able to treat shock like her father had taught her in her own agitated state.

Out of the corner of her eyes, Rayne saw the way the girl's mouth would open at intervals, as if she wanted to say something. But she didn't make a sound other than a whimper. The girl's arm was bent at an odd angle, and Rayne knew that it was broken. Without another word she stopped, tore at the bottom of her shirt, taking off most of it save for the upper for modesty sake and picked up a sturdy stick on the forest floor. The girl looked around wildly, fear in her eyes as she tired to understand why she had stopped. Rayne said not a word and grabbed the girl's arm as gently as she could. The girl struggled to pull away, but Rayne held fast, setting the stick against the arm bands carefully before wrapping the tore remains of her shirt around it, twisting it expertly as she set the girl's arm. The girl only let out a soundless whimper at her actions, and she frowned. Worry entered her at the silent sound of pain, and she said only a few words:

"Look, we just have to get to town, and you'll be safe okay? Just a few more miles."

The girl nodded swiftly. Again her mouth moved to say something, but nothing came out. She looked at her with pleading golden eyes, trying to convey something that Rayne didn't really understand. She was about to say something else, but decided against it as she heard a twig snap to her right. Instead she lead the girl again into running through the forest, heading in the direction of the town with as much silence as they could both muster. The now set arm was close to the taller and older girl's body and Rayne noticed that though it still must hurt, the girl didn't dare let out another whimper.

That meant that she was a strong girl, and Rayne admired her for that, vowing to get this girl home, and away from the supernatural freak out to get the costumed girl.

"DAMMIT PRINCESS COME OUT AND PLAY WITH ME!" screamed a voice suddenly to the right, and the faerie girl let out a scream.

Rayne's spare hand clasped itself over her lips before she could make a proper scream. She lowered both herself and the girl heart pounding even harder than before. Both their chest heaved in unison, and she felt the girl's pulse sky-rock from her hand. Rayne hummed softly to reassure her, lowering her even lower with her as she felt her senses come alive again, the smell of metal strong in the air once again.

She made a split second decision as she saw the gray girl only a few dozen feet away, it was one of the stupidest choices she had made ever in her life, but couldn't bring herself to care. She made to stand up, but was unable to because of the girl next to her. Her wide golden eyes bore into her own, and she was pale beneath her tan as Rayne wrenched her arm out of the girl's strong grasp.

"Don't! You'll get hurt!" said the girl hoarsely and quietly.

Rayne smiled thinly.

"When she's distracted, run as fast as you can, and as quietly as you can in the direction we've been heading, that's where the city is, okay?"she said in a hushed whisper.

The girl just looked at her with wide golden eyes. And, finally, Rayne stood up. The flaming girl's back was to her, and she could see the glowing and snarling dragon at the base of her spine, swirling with life and the licking of the flames on the girl's body. She took a deep breath, chest heaving and mind screaming to run, but she ignored that mind to move her direction, so the flamed drenched girl couldn't know where the other girl was.

"Whose there!?" said the girl suddenly, turning in a swift movement to face her.

Rayne sucked in a gasp as the girl was suddenly in front of her, hands curled around her neck with her back against the rough and biting surface of bark. She could hardly breath she noticed, with the steal like grip around her thin neck. She expected the flames to burn, but they didn't. Instead they felt nothing but a tickle against her sensitive flesh, and she noticed that the girl in front of her had short, cropped hair swinging by her ears through the flame. The twang of metal was intense at this close range, and Rayne sucked in air through her mouth to find the taste there as well.

"Looky looky, I've caught myself an earth girl..." said the girl, grip tightening on her neck.

Something boiled within her noted Rayne, just beneath the surface of her muscles and nerves, something deep in her bones was sparking and igniting itself. It seemed to be pushing away other somethings, things that felt like ice, darkness and storm from deep within her very essence.

"Now, earth girl you wouldn't happen to seen a tall brunette fearie pass through here?" asked the girl in a deadly tone.

But Rayne didn't dare answer hoping that the girl had managed to escape by now. She noticed all she could really do was feel that something with in her reach her nerves, making her whole body feel as if it was alive like a wire, tensing her muscles as that something reached them. The ice, darkness and storm was going away rapidly.

"Come on earth girl, where's the fearie?!"screamed the girl.

Her grip was suffocatingly tight, like a metal clamp around her thin neck. And she could feel the bruises forming on her delicate skin. But she didn't answer, eyes glaring.

"You know! I know you know!" screamed the girl, hysterically furious.

Rayne gave her a smile, in which the girl responded to with a sharp, bruising slap. It stung she noticed, like chilled steel against flesh. She bit back a scream, and felt a trickle of blood from her lip appear at the corner of her mouth. The force of the slap made her head snap to the side and made her neck crack painfully. But Rayne kept her smile as the grip around her neck somehow tightened, still not saying a single word.

"Tell. ME. Where. The. Girl. Is. Now!" said the flamed fury before her.

She felt that pressure of something within, a burning glorious feeling that chased away the chill of ice, the dark shadow and strong storm winds away finally. It made the dull surroundings around her seem so much more bright, so much more true and visible. Her senses seemed to be better at that second, with the world exploding into various different colors that she could have never seen before. The bark beneath her felt rougher, the glare of the sun felt warmer. She felt the most alive she had ever felt in fifteen years of life. And yet, the energy hovered just beneath her skin, aching to be released.

"Never."responded finally Rayne, blue eyes burning.

The girl of gray flame let out a howl of fury, those gray flames now attacking Rayne like small spikes of metal imbedding themselves into her flesh. She screamed as loudly as she could, feeling the flame lap at her skin harshly. It was then that the something within finally was let out. It was then that she felt something she hadn't felt since she was a baby.

Home.

Home was in this glorious burning energy around her, scalding the gray flamed witch who let go of her with a high scream, flying a good distance away to crash against a tree just as the brunette had before her. Home was the fire and the flame dancing around her, within and against her skin. Hair twirling in the mass of energy, Rayne felt alive and whole as if she had been missing this all her life, this fire that was alive and so much a part of her that she wept as it was back with her. Humming in her nerves and making thousands of colors against the naked air. This was home. This is what had been missing to her for fifteen years of life. This was home... This was _**home**_.

"YOU BITCH!" screamed the flamed girl, rushing her.

In her euphoria, Rayne couldn't bring the energy around her to do anything but attack her. But, the brilliant red fire headed toward the girl wasn't alone in its inferno of a path.

"SOLAR FLARE!" Screamed out a voice.

Red and gold collided along gray, a swirling mass of energy and light that took Rayne's breath away as the red fire around her faded. It left her feeling empty and hollow, but content somehow, as she felt that energy swirling and sparking vividly beneath her skin. No trace of ice, nor darkness, nor storm held it back anymore. She noticed that the girl she had told to run was rushing toward her... Then the girl with the faerie wings quite literally_** flew **_to her on those small wings, a long staff with a radial on the top in her unbroken arm's grip. It disappeared with a spinning flash, turning into a simple ring that the girl slipped onto her slender digit with a practiced movement. She landed in front of Rayne with a unsteady step, chest heaving like she had run a marathon. She opened her mouth to say something at the once flying girl, but was interrupted by the loud moan of the still flaming girl on the ground.

"Hold on." said the faerie shakily, grabbing Rayne around the waist with an ease that should have been impossible with her broken arm and soaring upwards with a simple jump on her part.

She didn't scream she found with happiness as the girl glided over the canopy of the trees, quick as lightening. She enjoyed the sense of unaided flight, the wind going through her messily bound hair, the feel of the sun on her naked lower back. It was amazing, almost as amazing as the feeling of releasing whatever she had released just minutes before. They flew quite a while, their heals touching at the trees beneath them. The girl seemed not to chose direct flight, as she seemed rather tired, instead she reached the tallest of trees and stepped off of them to gain some momentum, gliding for a minute or two before she repeated the process. Rayne put in the same movements after a few seconds of looking at the girl, letting her legs settle into the same rhythm so that they traveled faster, and she heard the girl give a giant sigh of relief.

Step, push off, glide. Step, push off, glide. Step, push off, glide. It was as easy as breathing to her, and she was soon using her energy more than the girl to get them farther. They girl seemed to be ever grateful, as the the grip around her waist tighten for a second in a thankful gesture. Rayne felt a question hovering on her tongue as they raced around the tree tops, and felt her stupid mouth before she could really think:

"What are you!?"screamed Rayne, against the wind.

The girl looked at her with wide eyes, stumbling in her jump. She didn't say a word, eyes still wide as she gazed at Rayne's horrified face. She hadn't meant to sound so rude and she grimaced.

"I'm sorry... It's just, I meant... I... What type of race are you?" asked Rayne, trying to apologize and feeling as though she stuck her foot in her mouth.

They jumped a little longer, before the girl finally spoke.

"I'm a faerie." she said it with pride, golden eyes shinning and wings fluttering with a renewed effort.

Rayne smiled, laughing quietly, and gaining an odd look from her faerie companion. Faerie!

"I'm sorry, but... I been obsessed with witches, faeries and magic since as long as I can remember." she said softly.

The girl chuckled softly.

"Is that so?"she said it with a wry grin, not unkindly either.

The city of Fairview was suddenly in front of them, and Rayne took in the familiar sight with a sigh. The faerie girl finally flew back into the woods with the city so close. Both landed unsteadily on their feet, before they slide down the trucks of trees, facing one another. The faerie dirtied dress of the girl faded with a soft pulse of golden light. She now wore simple yet beautiful dress, orange of course. A tiara crowned her head, and Rayne though back to the flamed girl comment on princess... Maybe that hadn't been a way to provoke the girl in front of her like she had first thought. Both their chest heaved, and they looked at each other with ill concealed awe. Rayne looked to her arm, noticing the flint and reached out to touch it to make sure she had done it properly.

She, and the girl hadn't expected what would happen next. Power surged from her once again, by passing her nerves and going to her fingertips in a single, swift movement. They began to glow like the sun, but gentler yet wilder at the same time as it ghosted over the girl's arm. There was a _**snap**_, and the girl gave a sharp gasp at the sound, flinching and Rayne let out a huff of effort. Then, the light from her fingertips faded, and Rayne pulled back her hand, looking at it as if it was an alien limb. The other girl removed the flint, testing her arm with an expert movement, and both saw that the arm was not broken anymore. Silence stretchered between the two girls, and they both trembled.

Rayne felt panic enter her, what the hell was she doing?! _**How **_the hell was she doing it? She was just a normal girl, wasn't she? Why after fifteen years was she suddenly a supernatural girl fighting flaming gray girls, saving what looked like a faerie princess? How was she suddenly kicking ass with some kind of fire powers and healing in the course of one day?! She stared at the girl in front of her with wide eyes, and she did the same. No one said a single word, nor did the make a sound other than the breathing.

The taller of the two was the one to break the silence:

"Thank you."said the girl after a moment, golden eyes streaming with tears.

Rayne smiled weakly.

"You're welcome, though I have no idea what your thanking me for."she said softly.

The girl laughed. It was a warm sound, though made less so by the ordeal that the girl must of just had.

"Saving my life of course... And fixing my arm."said the girl cheerfully, reaching out to squeeze her hand gently.

Rayne looked away.

"I have no idea how I did that." she said softly.

The girl in front of her must have looked confused for she said:

"You used rare healing magic, plain as day... Did you not know you could do that?"asked the girl kindly.

She nodded her head slowly, eyes wide. The girl gave out a soft gasp.

"Did you ever feel stuff like that before?" said the girl, eyes wide.

"No." said Rayne, a frown on her face.

The girl looked at her carefully, tilting her head to the side in a curious quick movement.

"I think you we're sealed then."said the faerie slowly, a frown marring her pretty face.

"Sealed?"asked Rayne.

"Yes. It an old dark magic spell, and it takes a lot of energy to do it, especially the older the victim is... And the stronger the victim... But, I think it was done to you when you were very young. By at the least three powerful people considering how much of punch you had back there." said the girl softly.

Rayne just stared. If what the faerie said was true, the what did that make her?

"What am I?" she asked softly, burying her face into her hands, trembling and scared.

The faerie girl was silent for a long time, not saying a word. Then her arms wrapped themselves around Rayne's shoulders.

"I think you're a faerie... But, at the same time your an earthling... You're the first earth faerie in a long time... I..."she said it hesitating, as if afraid or not really sure.

Rayne took her face out of her hands, a trembling smile on her face.

"Wow... That's just wow." she said.

The first one in a long time? How cliched was that? But, as she looked into the girl's golden eyes, she knew that she wasn't lying.

"Wow indeed... There was actually a false alarm roughly thirty years ago, but I think you're the real deal." said the faerie princess cheerfully.

"Thanks... I think."said Rayne, lifting a brow at the girl's giggles.

"No problem-... I don't know your name." she said suddenly, an aghast look on her face.

She smiled at the distressed girl, and laughed.

"I don't know yours either."

"My name is Estelle Lune, but no one calls me that but my parents and their friends... Most people under the age of thirty call me Estee."she said matter-of-factually, a bright smile appearing on her face.

"My name is Rayne Marie Thorn." said she, smiling as well.

"Oh, I forgot, earthlings have last names! Mine would be considered... Solaria, I guess, being my home planet." she said with a cheerful giggle.

They both smiled at each other, before Rayne stood up.

"Let's go... These woods aren't safe with... Her out there." she said wisely, offering her hand toward Estee.

She took it without a thought, a frown appearing on her face.

"Too true... Where to Rayne?" she said looking around warily.

Rayne gave a grimace, walking towards the light of the cities. It was then that she noticed that night had fallen.

"To my house." was all she said.

Estee the faerie princess followed her like an eager puppy. Now that they were quite literally out of the woods the girl chatted up a storm, loosing her earlier scared and serious demeanor to carry one that was like a ray of the warmest of sunbeams. She walked as if she was on a runway, fast bright and beautiful despite the various cuts and bruises, like an old statue straight out of ancient Greece. She talked about silly things, clothes and shoes and things like that... She talked about the magical world she grew up in, explaining a few things that made Rayne gape and marvel... But, as they walked toward her brownstone, Rayne could only really feel a single thought run through her mind like lightening. She wasn't human. She was different, just as she always felt she had... She had something within.


End file.
